Closure



Am I 13 1926. 1,580,544

. H. SPENGLER CLOSURE Filed Nov. 23, 1922 INVENFOR Patented Apr. 13, 1926.

umrsn STAT-ES PATENT o FFicE.

HENRY SPENGLER, OF NEW YClItK, N. Y.

CLOSURE.

Application filed November 23, 1922. Serial No. 602,721.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY SPENGLER, a

citizen of theUnited States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new ranged container gripping members and thus remove the closure member without the.

use of a tool.

The type of closure member thus described has gone into extensive use'and has satisfactorily performed its function. I have found, however, in the course of further experiments that a closure member of the same general type can be provided which .will embody improved features including a greater spread or extent of opening of the gripping members in the-releasing position, a greater leverage resulting in greater ease of manipulation, an operating movement of the bulged closure portion which takes place in a series of progressive stages rather than in a single snap movement, and the use of relatively thin and inexpensive-metal from which to form vthe closure member. I have found that it is possible to obtain a greater range of radial action while retaining easy actuation by making the bulge of the disk portion nonuniform 1n zones'or areas, thus apparently establishing lines or zones of natural circular fiexur-e. The resulting curvature either in the bulged and closed or indented and open aspects or condition of the closure is also nonuniform.

I find, for example, that by stamping circular concentric zones so as to slightly work and compress the material there seems to result a slight thinning of the material givin to such zones a higher elasticity and a difierent curvature, which may advantageousl be reverse in successive zones. The tota bulge may in such a case be considerable, but the action much easier than if the same bulge were formed with uniform curvature and elasticity. Also the radial throw seems to be greater than would be produced by the same total bulge with uniform curvature, or what is the same thing, a greater throw seems, to result from a :given bulge.

The invention includes the thinning and accompanying expansion in its own plane of the sheet metal forming the" cap with a resulting warping or bulging of the closure member in a plurality or multiplicity of areas between the center and the lateral boundaries thereof. The locally warped bulged areas may conveniently take the form of annular zones or areas connected by ridges whose accumulative expansive efi'ect produces a pronounced bulge or dome in the otherwise flat face of the closure member.' 'I find that the production of the bulge or dome in a series of steps or stages gives very beneficial results .in that the metal is rendered advantageously resilient and can be manipulated by moderate pressure which is progressively distributed in successive stages from the central portion of the cap to the boundaries thereof. The movement of the bulged portion of the cap from one side to the other of the normal central plane causes a pronounced radially directed expanding or contracting movement of a set of grip ing fingers or members extending 'outwar ly 1n. a substantially perpendicular relation to one, face of the cap member along the margin thereof.

Many specifically different modes or arrangements of this nonuniform working of the metal may be used with good results. I show one form which 1 have found to work well which illustrates the combined effects of differential working so that there are concentric zones of different curvature,

thickness and elasticity. 1

Such a cover seems to have a double buckling action which apparently accounts for the ease of action of a cap so considerably bulged. This is not noticeable in ordinary usage, but by slowly operating it two sharpliy marked stages of action distinguished by ifferent pitched sounds are observable.

I am unable to give any precise scientific statement of What takes place, but the result of the nonuniform zoning is-to produce a cap of markedly greater radial throw for a given ease of action and extent of bulge,

thus rendering it especially adapted for large covers and for packages having large or variable locking shoulders.

In the drawings in which a number of embodiments of the invention have been selected for illustration,

Figure l is a view in side elevation of a closure cap member embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a view in vertical section of the cap member shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Flgure 2 showlng the cap member in releaslng POSI- tion.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the cap member shown in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a plan view of a modified form of cap member embodying the invention.

Figure 6 is a view in section of still another form of cap member embodying the invention.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description of the invention, a closure member is shown at 5 which is adapted to close the mouth of a widennouthed container 6 such as is used for holding shoepaste or dressing. The closure member or cap 5 has a bulged or dome-shaped formation as indicated in Figures 1 and 2 and is sufficiently resilient to permit of the bending or buck ling of the bulged portion through a plane coincident with the base of the domeportion as indicated in Figure 3.

In order to obtain a suflicient extent of movement of the dome-shaped portion of the cap member to produce a proportionate and desirable spreading orgrlppmg action of the container-gripping member 7 to cause the fingers either to release their hold on the rim or bead 8 on the container 6 or to move .inward'ly into gripping relation with the head, I have provided the flat body portion of the closure member with a plurality of areas that have been subjected to operations designed to reduce the thickness of the metal a and at the same time expand the metal laterally within its own plane. It will be clear that the expansion of the metal laterally increases its superficial area and produces a bulged or bowed formation of the face of the cap. The accompanying thinning of the metal increases its resiliency while the changes of curvature even though slight seem to reduce the excessive rigidity and stitl'ness that otherwise inheres in the bowed or arched formation.

I find that the expansion and thinning of the metal in a multiplicity of areas faciliextensive movement required with the exertion of only a moderate degree of force. I

The buckling of the cap member from the outwardly bulged position such as is indicated in Figure 2 of the drawing to the inwardly bulge-d condition shown in Figure 3 results in a'corresponding swing of the'gripping flange members 7' from their gripping to their releasing position. It will be seen that the relatively extensive movement of the bulged or crowned portion of the cap produces an extensive inward or outward swinging movement of the gripping members 7 about the juncture points of the grip ping members with the margin of the bulged portion.

In producing the-expanded area of metal to provide the bulged or crowned portion the metal forming the cap is compressed or stamped between metal working members that act to consolidate the metal, in a plurality of local areas. The change thus pro- ,duced increases the elasticity and resiliency of the metal to an extent sufiicient to insure the ready accomplishment of the bucklingoperation. The spreading or lateral expanding effect that is produced in the metal when the thickness is reduced increases the superficial. area of the locally expanded regions and produces a bulge or dome shaped formation of the cap as a whole.

I find that the production of a bulge or crown in the cap made up of a multiplicity of differently worked areas and a resulting non-uniform zoning results in an eflicient and readily operable closure member that is particularly well adapted for use with con tainers having relatively wide mouths. In addition the working of the metal that is effected roduces a toughening'and strengthening e ect that is turned to useful account in the use of metal of thinner gage and'of reladtively less cost than would be otherwise use In producing cap members embodying the invention I may so form the bulged portions as to cause them to automaticallyresume their outwardly bulged position when. depressed, or to retain their inwardly bulged position until released by inward pressure exerted on the gripping members, as circumstances may re uire.

The different y worked portions may take the form of concentrically arranged annular areas 11 as indicated in Figure 4 or they may be formed by peening or stamping operations in spots or relatively small areas 9 as indicated in Figure 5. I contemplate also the use of corrugated dome portions 10 as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings. Other arrangements and dispositions of the worked local areas may be, provided.

\Vhat I claim is l. A spring closure having a non-uniformly resilient: central portion and depending separate engaging fingers actuated to locking position by change of curvature of said central portion, and said central portion having regions concentrictherewith of difi'erent thicknesses extending to the finger portion to produce different resilient action.

2. A snap cover having a bulged nonplanar central circular portion and depending edge portions formed as separated engaging fingers, said central circular portion having interrupted zones of varying thicknesses to produce non-uniformly resilient action. 1

3. A snap cover having a bulged nonplanar central circular portion and depend ing edge portions formed as separated engaging fingers, said central circular portion having concentric interrupted zones of varying thicknesses to produce non-uniformly resilient action.

4. A snap cover having a bulged nonplanar central circular portion and depending edge portions formed as separated engaging fingers, said central circular portion having reversely curved interrupted zones of varying thickness to produce non-uni-- formly resilient action.

5. A snap cover having a bulged non planar central circular portion and depending edge portions formed formed as separated engaging fingers, said central circular portion having areas of different thicknesses to roduce non-uniformly resilient zones of di erent elastic properties.

6. A snap cover having a bulged central portion and depending separated circumferential engaging fingers actuated to looking positionby change of curvature of said central portion and means for increasing the throw of said locking fingers comprising a plurality of zones of varying thicknesses to produce regions of different resilient action.

7. A sna cover having a bulged central portion an depending separated circumferential engaging fingers actuated to locking position by change of curvature of said central portion and means for increasing the throw of said locking fingers comprising a plurality ,of concentric zones of varying thicknesses to produce regions of difierent resilient action.

8. A snap cover having a bulged central portion and depending separated circumferential engaging fingers actuated to locking position by change of curvature of said central portion and means for reducing the force required to operate said cover comprising a plurality of concentric zones of non-uniform thickness.

- 9. A container closure cap having a resilient bulged formation, and container gripping members carried by the cap and adapted to be'moved to gripping or releasing position by movement of the resilient bulged portion to outward or inward position. said bulged portion of the cap being formed by a plurality of worked areas of different thicknesses.

10. A container closure cap having a resilient bulged formation, and container.

gripping members carried by the cap and adapted to be moved to gripping or releasing position by movement of the resilient bulged portion to outward or inward position, said bulged portion of the cap being formed by a plurality of'locally distorted areas of different thicknesses.

1l. A container closure cap having a resilient bulged formation, and container gripping members carried by the cap and adapted to be moved to gripping or releasing position by movement of the resilient bulged portion to outward or inward position, said bulged portion of the cap being formed by a plurality of thinned and laterally expanded areas.

12. A container closure cap having a bulgedformation adapted to be buckled to one side or the other of a base plane, and

container gripping members carried by the cap and adapted to be moved to grlpping or releasing position by the movement ot the bulged portion to its outward or its inward position respectively, said bulged portion being formed by a plurality of radially distributed thinned and superficially expanded areas whereby to provide a progressively yielding action when pressure is applied to the bulged portion.

13. A container closure caphaving integrally formed container gripping members body portion of said cap member being provided with a series of radially and annularly distributed thinned and laterally expanded areas whereby to prouce a flexible and resilient bulged formation, said bulged portion being adapted to be buckled to either side of the base plane whereby to swing said marginally arranged gripping members radially inward or outward to gripping or releasing position.

15. A container closure cap having integrally formed container gripping me1n-. hers projecting substantially perpendicularly from the margin of one 'face thereof, the body portion of said cap member being pro vided with a, multiplicity of radially distributed spot-like areas in which the material forming the cop is thinned and later ally expended to produce a resilient bulged formation, said bulged portion adapted to yield under pressure to produce a, progres- .sivelv actin reversal of its osition to thereby swing the gripping members inwardly or outwardly to gripping or releasing position. 4

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HENRY SPENGLER. 

